The Mountain in the Sea - Octopuses, AI, and the struggle to communicate!

Hugonauts: The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Rumors are swirling about a species of super-intelligent octopus living off the coast of Vietnam. As corporations and other non-state actors begin to investigate, it becomes clear that we are not alone in the universe - alien life has evolved right here on earth. DIANIMA, a giant tech company known for its machine learning prowess, buys the islands to study the octopuses and try to monopolize their unique brains for profit. They send Evrim, the world’s first true android / AI, and Dr. Ha Nguyen, a brilliant marine biologist, to study the octopuses, and Altantsetseg, a battle-hardened drone operator, to defend the islands from rapacious automated fishing vessels.

Can they learn to communicate with the octopuses? Or will this new intelligent life be destroyed by global corporations run amok?

• Join the Hugonauts book club on discord!
• Or you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer video
• Check out Ray Nayler's answers to your questions about the book!

Similar books we recommend:

• Children of Ruin - Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Story of Your Life - Ted Chiang (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/ted-chiang)
• The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi (https://hugonauts.simplecast.com/episodes/the-windup-girl)